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NAS 212 Keeps Dropping Connection (Switches Cloud to "Off" on Admin Page)
Hi all.
I don't post much to forums anywhere, so please forgive any faux pas...
Basically what the subject line says. I have a ton of media storage on my system and use Plex. This wasn't a problem until about a month or so ago. During that time, however, I did both an update to the NAS software, as well as add all kinds of media, albiet organized, to the cloud. The NAS won't respond to physical button pushing, so I have to unplug it and plug it back in every day or two if I want it to work. I don't need to access it that often so I usually don't.
The funny thing is, I can still watch Plex on any Television in the house, no problem. I can use Windows Explorer to read/access/change/delete files all I want it seems. It's just logging into the ReadyCloud page, it gives me that not available screen. When I have managed to get it, I see the little slider under the Cloud Tab (admin page) is now slid to off. I slide it back to on, and bam, all set.
Anyone have any ideas? Happy to provide log files, etc. I access the NAS from two main televisions (Samsung) and two different laptops (one upstairs, one down), and I believe it's definitely something to do with the NAS software. Not Plex, not my two laptops (both HP).
I know that if I type in "https://nas-ip-address/admin" the browser changes to (Not secure) "nas-ip-address/admin". So even if I open up a Chrome browser and type in exactly what you have above, it is the same as if I opened up the ReadyCloud and clicked on the link after it tells me I have to be on the LAN. For me there seems to be no difference whether I type in the "https://" portion or not.
Public websites all use certificates issued by a certificate authority (CA). The CA certifies that the website is actually run by the company it appears to be run by. It also can be used to verify that there isn't a proxy between you and the website that is eavesdropping on browsing.
The NAS uses a self-signed certificate, so there is no way the browser can verify all this stuff. Still HTTPS will give you an encrypted connection (unlike HTTP). But most browsers now will try HTTPS first even if you type in HTTP.
In any event, you will need to click-through the browser security warnings when you log into the web ui.
One thing to check is whether the browser has your NAS admin credential saved. If it has an old password, then you can end up on the password reset page (because NAS is rejecting the wrong password). One test is to open an incognito window in Chrome, and use that to browse to https://nas-ip-address/admin. Or just go into your browser settings, and see if there is a credential for the NAS.
The NAS won't respond to physical button pushing, so I have to unplug it and plug it back in every day or two if I want it to work.
Is this new behavior? When you do an unclean shutdown (pulling the plug), you do risk doing some damage to the file system (both your data and the operating system), since any cached writes are lost.
Is the NAS web ui responsive when it doesn't respond to the button pushing? If so, you ought to shut it down with the web ui instead.
Re: NAS 212 Keeps Dropping Connection (Switches Cloud to "Off" on Admin Page)
Thank you for the response and concern. I don't believe I can connect to it at all when that happens. On the PC it says not connected, the web UI (from that I think you mean the netgear ready cloud login site) says not connected. I can see the name of my NAS everywhere (although grayed out) except when trying to access through my LAN 192.168 address for the administration page. That way just loads for a minute or two and says can't connect.
Re: NAS 212 Keeps Dropping Connection (Switches Cloud to "Off" on Admin Page)
If the NAS is in the same location as you are accessing from, you don't need (and, IMHO don't want) ReadyCloud. The local NAS GUI is reached by browsing to https://<ip.of.your.nas>/admin (where <ip.of.your.nas> is replaced with the actual IP address. RAIDar can be used to assist in doing that if you don't know the IP address.
Netgear chose to push people toward using ReadyCloud even locally. I think it was to give the illusion that is really is the "local cloud" they advertised it as. (By definition, it's not "in the cloud" if it's in your home.). IMHO it was a poor decision. It's not cloud storage (it's very much at many of the same risks as your original data (theft, fire, etc.) and not backed up unless you've set it up to have backup. And it's easier to use the NAS locally without ReadyCloud. ReadyCloud is certainly the easiest method to have remote access to the NAS, however.
Re: NAS 212 Keeps Dropping Connection (Switches Cloud to "Off" on Admin Page)
@brianraus wrote: On the PC it says not connected, the web UI (from that I think you mean the netgear ready cloud login site)
No, I do not mean ReadyCloud.
I mean https://nas-ip-address/admin (using the real IP address of your NAS). That does not require ReadyCloud.
@brianraus wrote: This never happened until I put the Plex server app on the NAS and added a boatload of media.
Is the issue only that you cannot get the NAS to power down? But it will respond to the power button when you power up?
I am thinking that plex is trying to complete its media scan, and that is not working correctly. Possibly you don't have enough memory. You could try going into the advanced settings for the library, and setting the agent to "personal media" You won't get any metadata matching, but it might allow the scans to complete.
Re: NAS 212 Keeps Dropping Connection (Switches Cloud to "Off" on Admin Page)
Ok. I appreciate all the info.
When you said "Web UI", I assumed you meant accessing from the Web. That's why I thought you meant 'ReadyCloud'.
I do access through https://nas-ip-address/admin (using the real IP address of your NAS) for sure. That's how I realized I'm able to see the "Cloud" tab (admin page) and ReadyCloud is now toggled "off" (again), like right this moment. I guess I thought I wasn't technically on the web as I can't access that page (according to a warning) without being connected to the LAN.
I definitely don't want to change my library settings to personal media and lose the posters and all that jazz on my Plex UI. It's actually quite awesome. But, here, the story of my life is that it ALMOST works great.
Not enough memory? Here's where I don't know jack about this. I have plenty of space left on my NAS Drive(s). I have two of the 16TB IronWolf drives. Is there an upper limit on drive size?
Also - I appreciate your help. Back in the beginning, I was trying to use Netgear phone service. Of course, to talk to you, they want your serial number. The voice "recognizing" prompt couldn't tell the difference between a "B" or a "G" or a "C". I tried upteen times and gave up.
P.S. Did you mention this doesn't back up on its own? I bought two identical hard drives and I guess I thought the whole point of this thing was it would be redundant for when one craps out.
Not enough memory? Here's where I don't know jack about this. I have plenty of space left on my NAS Drive(s). I have two of the 16TB IronWolf drives. Is there an upper limit on drive size?
Memory is RAM, not disk. It's 2 GB in your NAS (and cannot be expanded).
P.S. Did you mention this doesn't back up on its own? I bought two identical hard drives and I guess I thought the whole point of this thing was it would be redundant for when one craps out.
RAID redundancy is not the same as backup (which is a copy on another device). Raid redundancy is useful, but not enough to keep your data safe,
P.S. Did you mention this doesn't back up on its own? I bought two identical hard drives and I guess I thought the whole point of this thing was it would be redundant for when one craps out.
As @StephenB says, backup is not the same thing as RAID redundancy. You are partly correct -- everything is redundant on the two drives and that will normally protect you if a drive fails. But that doesn't help with other things that can go wrong. The file system handles them as a single element, so there are issues with it (often due to an uncontrolled power off or filling the data or OS volume), it can be unrecoverable in spite of RAID. And, of course, you are not protected against ransomware, fire, theft, etc. RAID is more about availability (no need to take the NAS down and/or restore from backup if a drive fails) than backup.
Ok. Thank you. I'm quite certain when I was considering getting into a NAS that many of the specs/features were a little foreign to me so I just glossed right by a bunch of things.
There might be some ways to work around it (starting with smaller media libraries, and then adding content more gradually might be enough).
Have been thinking about that all night! Thank you. I was looking around some Plex community posts and it seems I'm not the only one to have put myself in this situation. As of just now I went through all the settings and set as many "off" as possible.
I'm trying to gather my thoughts here. I know that if I type in "https://nas-ip-address/admin" the browser changes to (Not secure) "nas-ip-address/admin". So even if I open up a Chrome browser and type in exactly what you have above, it is the same as if I opened up the ReadyCloud and clicked on the link after it tells me I have to be on the LAN. For me there seems to be no difference whether I type in the "https://" portion or not. Does that make sense?
It's funny, I'm always so proud of myself when I finally figure all of this foreign stuff out, then realize there is still so much to learn! Frustrating at times? For sure. But, alas, is the nature of the beast.
I've thanked you before, but should mention that many community posters all over the web are snotty and condescending. It is one of the reasons I've always been hesistant to post, from guitar boards to video game boards, to Netgear boards, etc. So, again, thank you for being kind.
I know that if I type in "https://nas-ip-address/admin" the browser changes to (Not secure) "nas-ip-address/admin". So even if I open up a Chrome browser and type in exactly what you have above, it is the same as if I opened up the ReadyCloud and clicked on the link after it tells me I have to be on the LAN. For me there seems to be no difference whether I type in the "https://" portion or not.
Public websites all use certificates issued by a certificate authority (CA). The CA certifies that the website is actually run by the company it appears to be run by. It also can be used to verify that there isn't a proxy between you and the website that is eavesdropping on browsing.
The NAS uses a self-signed certificate, so there is no way the browser can verify all this stuff. Still HTTPS will give you an encrypted connection (unlike HTTP). But most browsers now will try HTTPS first even if you type in HTTP.
In any event, you will need to click-through the browser security warnings when you log into the web ui.
One thing to check is whether the browser has your NAS admin credential saved. If it has an old password, then you can end up on the password reset page (because NAS is rejecting the wrong password). One test is to open an incognito window in Chrome, and use that to browse to https://nas-ip-address/admin. Or just go into your browser settings, and see if there is a credential for the NAS.
Re: NAS 212 Keeps Dropping Connection (Switches Cloud to "Off" on Admin Page)
Sorry for the delay in responding.
I checked out some Plex community boards and such and changed some settings that were suggested. My NAS is running a lot better now. Taking your advice, I've linked a external drive to my NAS and I am now using the Backup tab (in admin settings) to backup what I feel is necessary at this time.
Again, I appreciate your knowledge and responses. I've only had the "Cloud" tab reset to "off" one time since I last posted here. Between your advice Plex boards, I'm in a whole lot better shape than I was. It used to happen at least daily.
Re: NAS 212 Keeps Dropping Connection (Switches Cloud to "Off" on Admin Page)
Hey guys. One more thing.
So although have the problem a lot less, right this second I am having the typical problem I have. The NAS is not set to back up at this time, and like I said, I have way toned down the Plex settings so it isn't refreshing all the time.
I AM trying to go to the 192.168.1.XX website of my NAS from the local network. Whether I type in "http" or "https" doesn't matter as it just defaults to "192.168.1.XX/admin". So it gives me the blue bar of trying to contact then I get the "ReadyNAS Admin page is offline" page. It was suggested I turn off the NAS using the software, but how can I do that when this is the thing that stops me from contacting it?
I AM trying to go to the 192.168.1.XX website of my NAS from the local network. Whether I type in "http" or "https" doesn't matter as it just defaults to "192.168.1.XX/admin". So it gives me the blue bar of trying to contact then I get the "ReadyNAS Admin page is offline" page.
Re: NAS 212 Keeps Dropping Connection (Switches Cloud to "Off" on Admin Page)
Eventually, yes.
Like I mentioned, it used to be every night. I don't screw with the thing every single day but today I noticed it was doing that again.
I installed RAIDar (had to install Java first, of course). It found my NAS right away and I was able to use that program to do a restart. It showed my "management system was down" or something similar (in yellow) so I pushed the "restart" button in the lower right hand corner.
I'm back up. Instead of the yellow message mentioned above, now it's "Healthy" in green.
It's a pain to do this, but I'll live with it if it means I'm not pulling the power cord on my NAS to get up and running again.
P.S. When this happens, and I cannot get to the admin page, I am able to access all files through Windows Explorer.
